When LinkedIn Endorsements Actually Matter
Each morning I check my email and begin haphazardly deleting spam and other erroneous messages from my inbox. This day was no different. Delete. Delete. Delete. Delete...WAIT! What did that subject line say?! "William has endorsed you!" from LinkedIn (but dont reply because we are not real people harassing your inbox).
Could it be? William Arruda, founder of Reach Personal Branding and anointed as the Personal Branding Guru by Entrepreneur Magazine, has endorsed me? For what exactly?
[Open email.]
You're telling me that the global leader in personal branding has just endorsed me for my skills and expertise in personal branding? Now that's a LinkedIn endorsement worth putting stock into. Ever since LinkedIn came out with this endorsement feature, I never really gave it much attention nor did I consider it credible. People I barely knew were endorsing me for skills and expertise for which they had no authority to do so. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the gesture and it does make me feel all warm and cozy inside but realistically they hold very little credibility.
This endorsement, however, is completely different. As a Master Certified Reach Personal Branding Strategist and the Executive Producer of the Reach Personal Branding Interview Series, William Arruda is a personal mentor, coach and boss of mine. This alone validates the endorsement but what makes the gesture even more meaningful is the fact that he endorsed my personal branding skills instead of my management, communication, or leadership skills. When the "Personal Branding Guru" endorses you for personal branding, no matter what the medium, it means something (even though I cringe writing the word guru because I staunchly disagree with its use - but that's whole other blog post).
My point is this, although 80% of LinkedIn endorsements are bogus, 20% are not. And it is this 20% that employers, business partners, or clients should consider while researching prospects on LinkedIn. Why not accept this challenge: seek out the 20% of your LinkedIn endorsements that actually matter and highlight those in some way. Hint: This blog post is an example of highlighting a LinkedIn endorsement that actually matters.